"Words are quite useless to describe the divine voice of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, there are not enough favourable adjectives one could give to praise this highly intelligent and dramatic musician. Ms Hunt has a voice and instinct so highly refined as to leave most singers for dead when it comes perfect articulation and phrasing and getting to the raw nerve of the piece. Her commitment to exploring the total pallate of colours possible for the human voice yealds sounds oftern too beautiful to bare.
Being a singer myself I can only say thankyou to Ms Hunt for one of the best singing lessons Ive every had in my life-listening to her Irene from Theodora instilled in me the importance and appreciation for exploring all the dramatic shades of colour a piece of music has to offer. Suddenly singing becomes more than an 'in your face-stand up and deliver' art form, but an interactive, truely human and utterly fragile and sensitive genre.
God bless you you true singing Diva. If only the everyone was made to listen to you for 5 minutes a day, what a world we would live in.
Oh yeah, this Disk presents all of Lorraine Hunt's efforts form the Sellars production of Handel's AMAZING opera/oratorio Theodora from Glynborne. The arias are amongst the most touchingly beautiful and richely crafted works of Handels output. They have changed the way I listen to music full stop. 5 STARS FOR LORRAINE AND 5 STARS FOR THE MUSIC."
Laurel upon Laurel!
Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 10/25/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Lorraine Hunt Lieberson is steadily, assuredly demonstrating to the music world that here is a voice of such beauty, warmth, and intelligence that she simply has no peers. While other singers who traverse the Handel or Bach repertoires do so with success and dignity, Hunt Lieberson transcends them all in her poignant ability to go directly to the composer's intentions while keeping the singing fresh, creatively alive and eloquently real. Her way with ornamentation, especially that of her da capo embellishments, is simply ravishing: brilliant technique for technique's sake never gets in the way of enhancing the beauty of the vocal line. The CD presents arias from two of Handel's operas (both of which Hunt Lieberson has performed successfully on stage) - "Theodora" and "Serse" - and an added cantata "La Lucrezia". As the crowning light of her recording she performs with the gifted Harry Bicket and The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the collaboration is perfect! A compleat singer, this, and an inestimable gift to the music world."
"I have never heard a voice purer of tone, more flexible in phrasing, and so gorgeously produced in a homogeneous column of sound such as this artist in Handel's repertoire. It is very tastefully sung (unlike a certain person whose name begins with R and ends with enaaay Fleming) and so dramatically touching that one could not help but feel that this repertoire finally has found its instrument. And how sad it is to know that this instrument has passed away two days ago. Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson died two days ago in her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico of breast cancer. It is such a huge loss to the opera world, as she is an artist who is still experiencing the prime of her career. The voice is just so beautiful, the tone so pure, that I lament that we can no longer hear any great roles from this artist. She will be missed."
Astonishing
Karen Crestin | 10/31/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you usually listen to Handel performances analyzing the technique and noting ornamentations, like me, then this album will change all that. This is not a pretty voice singing nice music. Lorraine's voice is expressing such range of emotions, from fury to calming serenity, you will be blown away.
What a riveting performace!
And this album would be great for anybody not familiar with Handel at all, most of arias are English and Lorraine's diction is crystal clear. And even if you think you know Ombra Mai Fu, ie Handel's Largo, you probably never heard more perfect version that the one on this album. A must buy for anybody interested in great music."
The Stellar Hunt Lieberson
Diane M. Armitage | Santa Fe, NM | 03/18/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Simply put, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson is one of the very best classical singers alive. She combines vocal elegance and purity with an emotional delivery that raises her above the crowd of technically proficient singers who just don't possess her depth of musical understanding or emotional commitment. Hunt Lieberson is a true artist who resists easy classfication except to say she is perfect in what she does."